The present disclosure relates generally to subterranean drilling operations and, more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for drilling and completion fluid separation.
Subterranean drilling operations typically utilize drilling fluids to provide hydrostatic pressure to prevent formation fluids from entering into the well bore, to keep the drill bit cool and clean during drilling, to carry out drill cuttings, and to suspend the drill cuttings while drilling is paused and when the drilling assembly is brought in and out of the borehole. The drilling fluids are typically made of a base fluid with suspended particulate matter, otherwise known as additives, in ratios that depend on the particular drilling application. These ratios may control in part the density of the drilling fluid, or other rheological features of the drilling fluid, required for the drilling fluid to function correctly.
As the drilling fluid is cycled downhole, the drilling fluid may accumulate additional particulate matter that offsets the desired ratio. In such instances it is typically desirable to remove some or all of the particulate matter, to either restore the desired rheological properties, or to recover the base fluid and remix the desired drilling fluid. Existing methods to remove the particulate matter, however, are problematic. These existing methods include centrifugation, which is slow and requires frequent maintenance; physical filtration, which requires replacement and cleaning of easily clogged filter media; and thermal treatment, which is energy intensive and costly, and can cause the base oils and additives to breakdown. What is needed is a cost-effective, efficient, and easily implementable method and apparatus for drilling and completion fluid separation.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.